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@graceabounds2129  I LOVE YOUR POEM, GIRL! When you finish editing it, please tag me! When it’s finished, I would love to print it out and put it on my poetry wall. <3

For how I edit poetry…I generally draft out my poem longhand and get out everything in my head–all the ideas and the vibes and all that. After that, I take a break for a day or two, then come back fresh and look at the poem. I read it carefully and make little longhand edits with question marks. This is usually like,” another phrase here?” or “better word?” or whatever I want to replace. I don’t actually change it yet though. No erasing! I take another break and come back the next day. Then I type it out on my computer and put it in Hoefler Text (my favorite poetry font). That helps me see any irregularity in the stanzas and just shows me other flaws that I may not have seen before. I look at my edits form the day before and add the ones I still like. I print the poem out, leave it for a few days, longhand edit, leave it, type, longhand edit, leave it, etc. until I am happy with it.

Some things I like to look for in free-verse: self-indulgent showing (writing what you want to write and confusing the reader–especially in beginning stanzas), lack of color and imagery, lack of metaphors, overly flowery lines, blunt and unoriginal lines, saying something just because it sounds good, structural irregularity (not always, but within stanzas at least), and, of course, accidental cliche phrases.

That’s just what works best for my creative process! My one rule is to never erase anything without leaving the edit for a day and coming back. That way, I never erase a beautiful brainchild in a fit of despair. ;P

I hope this helps!